Two tries: Giulio Toniolatti
Italy ran in nine tries to hammer Russia 53-17 in a rather one-sided World Cup Pool C encounter at Trafalgar Park in Nelson on Tuesday.
The result means Italy move level with Australia on five points in a pool that could have a massive impact on the make up of the play-offs.
The Russian scrum was moving in reverse as soon as the ref said 'engage', meaning the Italian backs had plenty of quality first-phase ball to work with - and they used to deadly effect.
The World Cup newcomers put on a gallant display against the USA last week but were simply outclassed by a more experienced, more clinical side.
It wasn't all bad news for the Russians, who scored three good tries - their first in World Cup competition - in an entertaining game.
Six first-half tries gave Italy a 38-7 lead at the break with wing Giulio Toniolatti grabbing two and referee Wayne Barnes awarding a penalty try against the Russian scrum.
Centre Tommaso Benvenuti added his second after the restart as Nick Mallett's side touched down three more times to break to the 50-point barrier in a more evenly-contested second half.
It took just six minutes for Italy to open the scoring as skipper Sergio Parisse crossed at the end of a flowing move.
It was one-way traffic for most of the rest of the half with Toniolatti, Benvenuti and scrum-half Edoardo Gori following their captain's example.
Russia did manage to sneak a try, with scrum-half Alexander Yanyushkin striking with a sniping run immediately after Italy were reduced to fourteen when hooker Fabio Ongaro saw yellow for a late tackle.
It was much the same for Italy at the start of the second half as wing Luke McLean and replacement flank Alessandro Zanni drove the Azzurri's advantage home.
But Russia finished strongly as they chased a four-try bonus point. It wasn't to be, but well-taken tries from wing Vladimir Ostroushko and centre Alexey Makovetskiy were just reward for the Bears' hard work.
Man of the match: He only played 56 minutes before being pulled off and wrapped in cotton wool, but Sergio Parisse was phenomenal, scoring one try and having a hand in creating three more. Pure class. A mention too for his opposite number, Victor Gresev, who worked tirelessly.
Moment of the match: Parisse's try had the Bears on the ropes and Giulio Toniolatti's first try gave the Italians a healthy lead. Not only was it a wonderful try to watch, but it effectively ended any suspends regarding the result.
Villain of the match: No bad guys tonight.
The scorers:
For Italy:
Tries: Parisse, Toniolatti 2, Benvenuti 2, penalty try, Gori, McLean, Zanni
Cons: Bocchino 4
For Russia:
Tries: Yanyushkin, Ostroushko, Makovetskiy
Con: Rachkov
Yellow card: Ongaro (Italy - 32nd min - late tackle)
Italy: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Matteo Pratichetti, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Riccardo Bocchino, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (capt), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Paul Derbyshire, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Tommaso D'Apice, 17 Martin Castrogiovanni, 18 Cornelius van Zyl, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Luciano Orquera, 22 Alberto Sgarbi.
Russia: 15 Igor Klyuchnikov, 14 Vasily Artemyev, 13 Andrey Kuzin, 12 Alexey Makovetskiy, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Konstantin Rachkov, 9 Alexander Shakirov, 8 Victor Gresev , 7 Andrey Garbuzov, 6 Vyacheslav Grachev , 5 Adam Byrnes, 4 Alexander Voytov, 3 Ivan Prishchepenko, 2 Vladislav Korshunov (c), 1 Vladimir Botvinnikov
Replacements: 16 Valery Tsnobiladze, 17 Alexander Khrokin, 18 Denis Antonov, 19 Artem Fatakhov, 20 Alexander Yanyushkin, 21 Mikhail Sidorov, 22 Yury Kushnarev.
Venue: Trafalgar Park, Nelson
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Steve Walsh, Chris Pollock
TMO: Shaun Veldsman
Comments
GCP_JONES says...
@ leinster_goy
Show some respect Man, I would'nt be surprised if we don't score that many tries against them on Sunday. The result against the Wallabies was excellent no doubt, but it was won by the Pack and Halves, our back-line play was non-existent again on Saturday.
At the end of the day we won a match in the pool, but still have to perform to more or less to that level over the next 2 games(and beyond) if we are to top it. Ireland have not performed to a consistently high standard over a number of matches for as long as I can remember.
Their are more surprises in this pool I fear.
Posted 12:20 20th September 2011
staph_glorious says...
leinster_boy,
One of the finer aspects of rugby union in the world of sports is how well performance correlates with the scoreline. If one team dominates another with respect to a number of facets of play, the domination will be reflected on the board. Yet still it only takes an improvement in one or two areas to significantly reduce that gap.
One-sided displays are not solely the result of 'Tier' disparity. Review these matches - Ireland v England, Croke Park, 24th February 2007; South Africa v Australia, Johannesburg, 30th August 2008; New Zealand v Ireland, New Plymouth, 12th June 2010; France v Australia, Stade de France, 27th November 2010; New Zealand v South Africa, Wellington, 30th July 2011. Savagery galore.
RWC at present cannot boast a level of competition like other international tournaments, but it does serve as a great means of providing experience for developing unions. To supplement their development, more fixtures need be organised within these four year cycles. The thrashings will then begin to serve a purpose.
(...as me da' always said!)
Posted 12:16 20th September 2011
Bones7 says...
Imagine, just imagine, what Italy would be like had Wisniewski not turned down Nick Mallets offer to play for them
Posted 12:15 20th September 2011
curates_egg says...
You are all a bit harsh on leinster_goy. He makes a fair point. Russia are simply making up the numbers. Even the US should have gotten a bonus off them if the conditions weren't so bad. If you look at the latest IRB rankings (http://www.irb.com/rankings/full.html), the top 18 teams are all competitive, after that the quality dips substantially. It is something the IRB should be looking at at the very least.
As for today's game, Italy were totally dominant. As an Irish fan, I would be worried about their scrum, which looks even stronger than usual. However, I am also worried that their backs look more fluent than ours. It will be a tight game against Italy.
Posted 12:08 20th September 2011
Choke_Free_Zone says...
leinster_goy says...
Errrm, Russia has placed Rugby as a part of its national curriclium in schools, they now have a professional league. Rugby is prefect for the Russian DNA. So with Rugby moving ahead of Soccer in Georgia, I would suggest that Russia will be more than just 'glad to be here' in England 2015. With the amount of Russians living in London they will have more support and perform better than Japan who has been in to worldcup since 1987 without winning a single game, I fell sorry for Portugal, Poland and Spain
Posted 11:33 20th September 2011
Lucasrg says...
Forza Azzurri! Yes ok, Russia was pretty mediocre, but Italians were pretty solid, few penalty conceded, better attacking lines and all in all a good performance.
I am pretty worried about the kicking situation, in tight games such the upcoming one against Ireland and the future 6 nations, Penalty kicks and conventions has to go in.
Congratulations to Russia to make some history. The second try was a knock on, but it was good to see them celebrating their first try in RWC.
On the side note...I found the marching band pre game show quite hilarious!
Posted 11:25 20th September 2011
filipecp says...
leinster_goy, just because you won a match against Australia doesn't mean you should say things like that. Remember Georgia in 2007? You almost lost to Italy in the 6 Nations and you may well lost to them in the WC
Posted 11:00 20th September 2011
Carpelone says...
Finally, an Italian line-up with only two players from abroad.
As far as the result is concerned, nothing less was expected.
Two issues:
an insufficient conversion and kick rate;
three tries leaked.
Let's hope they grab the bonus point also with USA, so that the last match will be worth watching
@ leinster_goy
Not convinced Italy is the weakest 1st tier team (Scotland lag behind in my opinion), they just miss a decent fly-half, capable to kick and distributed. In all the other departments, they have no obvious weaknesses. In any case they may have a chance to prove you wrong on 2nd October.
Posted 10:52 20th September 2011
lawynd says...
@leinster_goy - Italy were in that same situation a few years ago, yet they've progressed massively since then...do you then begrudge them their place at the RWC and the progress it has helped them make? Forget comparisons with Portugal, who lost several key players after the last tournament that they haven't been able to replace. As it is, Russia still scored three tries and, were it not for some schoolboy defending, might have made it a closer game.
In short, stop bleedin' whining!
Posted 10:40 20th September 2011
blametheref says...
Ireland have been warned!
Posted 10:32 20th September 2011
leinster_goy says...
thanks irb, another "we're just glad to be here" team endures a sound thrashing from possibly the weakest tier 1 nation. no doubt russia will progress from here and qualify for the next WC, just like portugal...oh wait
Posted 10:28 20th September 2011
laura says...
Italy scoring 9 tries?? With their backs?????? MIRACLE!
Good job boys.
Posted 10:23 20th September 2011